


Bet On It

by Zeef



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Langst, M/M, Texan Keith (Voltron), Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 12:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10640091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeef/pseuds/Zeef
Summary: In an attempt to get the Red Paladin to be more Galra, he and another paladin are captured. He is forced to watch them torture Blue, so that he'll get angry and resort to instincts. No matter how much Lance pretends to be okay, Keith knows it's not really okay, and knows there's nothing he can do but watch helplessly.





	1. The Capture

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've published in years and my first actual Voltron fic AND my first fic on ao3. The majority of the violence in this isn't actually going to be bloody and stuff, it's mostly Haggar's magic, so that's not a thing to worry about.
> 
> This is mostly prologue! It's just to get things where the real fun starts. ^-^ Hope you enjoy!

They were tasked with the capture of at least one of the paladins, preferably Red. Red's Galra blood had become evident lately, and the commanders wanted to see what they could do with that. If they managed to get another one too, that was a bonus. The soldiers didn’t know any of the details other than The Plan when it came to these people, and didn’t know much about the creatures they were supposed to attack but not harm more than necessary. They knew the important information though: the paladins would likely be on planet for less than half an hour, they didn’t have much time to waste, and that if they screwed up anything, Zarkon would have their hides.

Their mission was simple. The four of them would take a small mission ship, a ship that only contained a cell and a storage room below deck, as well as the deck itself, but not much else that was used for this sort of thing, to the planet the commanders had assumed the Paladins would be visiting. The planet in question Chilyo, was uninhabited, but its sheer amount of quintessence caused rocks to be infused with the stuff, causing healing crystals that were used around the universe to create the life saving effect of healing pods.

Not even the Galra dared to drain the planet of the resource, because they needed the crystals just as much as everyone else, and it was the only planet that did this. This meant that if they drained it, they might very well doom themselves, and they chose not to take that risk. The commanders had assumed that because of the amount of fighting the two groups had been doing, the paladins would soon need to collect some crystals to power their Cryo-Replenisher, and clearly they had been right.

After being on the planet for at least three Vargas, the castle of lions finally entered the atmosphere. The paladins left their ship and started moving in separate directions, waving around their Replenishing Crystal Detection Devices, though they still stayed close, for safety. Red and Blue seemed to get into a bit of a disagreement and separated from the group, appearing to have some kind of competition over who would find a crystal first. The Galra soldiers followed quietly through the purple brush, staying close, but not too close, so that they would be able to catch them before they got a chance to run away. Finally they were within a better earshot and could hear the conversation, not that it made much sense to them.

“There is no way you're going to find them first!” Blue exclaimed, making wild hand motions.

“Please, you are oblivious of everything else, why would you think you could see this first?” Red replied, crossing his arms and smirking. 

Blue shouted back, “Oh yeah?! Wanna bet on it?! I bet y'all eyes can't see anything!”

“That's not even the right way to use y'all!”

“Oh good, I’m not using it correctly! I’m not becoming a Texan!”

“What’s wrong with being from Texas?!”

“What isn’t wrong with being from Texas?!”

“I’ll prove it’s better than wherever you’re from by finding these rocks before you!”

The soldiers had no idea what a “y'all” was, but they were clearly not expecting to be ambushed. Blue held back, looking for the stones, and they took it as the perfect opportunity to attack. With the task of capture, not kill, they had to change from their usual tactics. They really didn’t understand the anatomy of the human, but a hit to the head caused it to get disoriented. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been hard enough to knock it out and it had tried to call for help and get away. They had been trying not to wound it too badly in fear of breaking it and getting in trouble, but it seemed that humans were slightly more durable than they’d suspected, and gave it another quick whack to make it stop. Blue crumbled, having been too dazed to protect itself from the second attack, seeming to be unconscious.

It had managed to get the attention of Red, which was good and bad. Red was coming at them with anger, ready to stab them with that sword, but, Red was coming at them. They wouldn’t have to chase him. Red managed to cut one of them before he was overwhelmed and safely in the arms of one of the soldiers. The soldier used a type of incense made specifically for Galran senses on Red to render him unconscious, and they all soon headed back to the ship with their prizes. Their attack had not gone unnoticed, but they were already in the ship by the time the paladins caught up, and would be out of the atmosphere by the time they ran all the way back to their lions to chase them.

After getting on the ship, the two carrying the captives put them in the cell while the pilot, Marzon, got the ship going, and going as fast as the little ship could. Poor Garnick had gotten himself a pretty bad cut on the side, and once Armol and Zarktick were done locking the prisoners up, they tried to figure out how to help him. The ship was too small to fit a full sized Cryo-Replenisher, but they had a small handheld, quintessence based device that could at least stop the bleeding. Garnick just smiled when they pulled it out though, and held up a crystal he’d spotted on the planet’s surface. Just holding it with his bare hands was enough to stop the bleeding and begin to fix his cut.

“You found a crystal?!” Armol cried, equal parts ecstatic and annoyed. “Why didn’t you tell us before? We were worried!” Armol was the highest ranked in the little group, and the most experienced, especially when it came to guns. He tended to be a worrier and tried his best to get the others in line.

“Relax, Mol, we had to be quiet, so I kept my mouth shut, so I could tell you guys on the ship and surprise you!” Garnick replied, still smiling. He was the youngest member of the team, and this was one of his first missions. They were trying to look out for the kid, but there was only so much they could do when their jobs were so dangerous. 

“Yeah, Mol, don't be a wormol!” Zarktick agreed, laughing and clapping the man on the shoulder. Ah, Zarktick, the joker of the team. He and Armol had been together since nearly their first day, fighting side by side for the empire. His carefree attitude and pension for joking around at inappropriate times was what caused him to be below Armol in rank and experience, but he was the most skilled with chemicals such things.

Armol rolled his eyes at his old friend and crossed his eyes. “I'm no wormol.”

“You are definitely making a wormol face right now,” Zarktick replied, smiling even more.

“Can't you guys just shut up a little with your bantering and let me focus on out running the most deadly weapons in the universe?!” Carzon yelled from his position in the pilot's seat. The final member of the team had a sharp temper but tried his best to control it. In high stress situations like this, he had a habit of being unable to control his volume.

“Just fly true, Carzon, I trust you,” Armol said calmly. 

The ship lapsed into silence as they made their way back to base. There was a bit of guilt about what they were doing, but the kids were enemies of Zarkon and the Galra, and they were Galra, so that was a bad thing! Still, these kids couldn't be very old, they didn't even seem to be thirty. They probably didn't know better. Maybe the commanders would be a little merciful with them. They were going to try to get Red on their side at least. That's better than swift and immediate death. 

The crew got back to base and delivered the prisoners to the appropriate places and people. They got debriefed and then were sent on their way. A nice night at the bar was traditional after a mission and they enjoyed an evening without having to think about their jobs or what they had done.


	2. Dessert for Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair wakes up and assesses the situation at hand, and enjoy (or don't) a yummy meal, worrying about what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get so excited when I finish a chapter that I can't wait to share it! I've already gotten half way through the third chapter. There will be some angst in that, and then a break, and then chapter five should be the first time Lance is tortured.

In one moment they had been bickering like they always did, the next Lance was screaming and collapsing and then there was that strange smell and then-

Stale air and the ominous lighting on Galra ships that reminded him of the fluorescent lights at school. Keith coughed and shook his head as he woke up, blinking the blur out of his eyes. God, whatever that thing had been, it had smelled awful. The scent had practically filled up his head and made it impossible to stay awake. He really needed to listen to Shiro more, not rush into things. If Lance hadn't-

Lance!

“Lance?!” Keith called, looking around frantically. Directly in front of him was the door, and to his left, the wall was in fact some form of glass, and on the other side was a pile of armor with dark brown hair at the top. Keith scrambled over to the glass and knocked on it with even more desperation. He remembered those hits to the head Lance had received, and was terrified he was badly injured. “LANCE, CAN. YOU. HEAR. ME?!”

Lance’s head moved a little at the sounds, and he slowly began to move. Finally he was sitting up and rubbing his head, and looking around with confusion. Why was he so confused? Why wasn't he looking at him. Suddenly Lance’s mouth opened like he was calling out, but Keith didn't hear a sound. That was weird. 

“Lance, I can see you, but I can't hear you. Can you hear me?” Keith asked, trying to be patient with the blue paladin who still seemed reluctant to take his hand away from his head.

Lance seemed to take a second before nodding, and looking around again. He made motions with his hand that reminded him of the motions Lance was so fond of.

“I still don't know sign language, Lance, remember? Just… mime it or something!” Keith cried, getting a little frustrated.

He pointed at his eyes and shook his head, then pointed at his ears and nodded. Lance then made gestures at the walls and the door and generally confused Keith.

“The wall to the right of the door is the one that connects to my cell, if that's what you're saying. How's your head?” Keith asked, once he called down a bit. 

Lance looked at the wall that connected their cells and smiled brightly, holding his head. He made a brushing off motion to try to tell him it was no big deal.

Keith sighed and tried to assess the situation. Lance didn't seem to have a concussion, not that he would be able to tell very well from where he was, but his motor skills didn't seem any less pointed than usual. With that worry out of mind, the next step was to get out. He went over to the door and inspected it. There were no obvious ways to open the door, but there was an outline at the bottom that suggested it could be raised to push a tray of food in.

“Can you see anything useful for getting out on your side? I'm sure they're listening to us and watching what we do so be careful what you say and do,” Keith said, looking over at Lance’s side to see what he was up to. He knew his fellow paladin was capable of, you know, doing his job, but he felt a helpful reminder would… keep anything unnecessarily unfortunate from happening.

Lance gave him a look of ‘what, do you really think I'm that stupid?’ and inspected the door. After a moment he shook his head and frowned, looking back at Keith's side. That bump on his head still looked sore, despite what Lance said. Keith knew he'd have to take point on this, even if Lance wasn't concussed. Two hits to the head that knock you out are not good for your thinking and processing abilities. When you can be lacking in those two to begin with- oh quiznak Lance had that expression on that he got when he wasn't okay. Quick, think of something comforting to say.

“Don't worry. I'll get us out of here. I just… need some time to think this through and come up with a plan,” he said, trying to copy Shiro’s commanding tone. Yeah, good job, that sounded believable. He'd think of something soon. Best of all, Lance seemed to believe him, and gave him one of those real smiles he did sometimes when he wasn't being a showman. Keith smiled back, even though he knew it couldn't be seen.

The slit at the bottom of the door opened and a tray was pushed in, then it closed again. Dinner, he assumed. Keith inspected the stuff and poked at it, wondering about how edible the stuff was. At first glance, it was translucent purple glop on top of a cylinder of cake stuff that was a purple/gray color. It smelled heavenly, but he had to worry that they might be trying to poison them. Well, it might not be Hunk’s cooking, but there was no way of knowing how long it would be until they would get to taste that again. Keith knew if he didn't eat now, he'd have no strength for whatever was to come, so he decided to use the utensil they'd given, something along the lines of a spork but with a sharp enough side to cut into the cake, and eat it. 

Oh, it was just as delicious as it smelled. The purple glop tasted like a mix between a blueberry and a wild raspberry in the summer sun, and had bits of the seeds still in the sauce. Meanwhile, the cylinder tasted like shortcake with the texture of cornbread, and was sweet in a way that complemented the glop perfectly. Keith savored the taste and ate it quickly, but slow enough to take it in. He sat with his back against the wall facing Lance’s side with the tray on his lap, and was surprised when he looked up to see that Lance didn't seem to like the food.

“What's the matter, is it too sweet for you? Are you too bitter to eat it?” Keith teased, smiling again at his jab.

Lance looked over like Keith was nuts and shook his head, spelling out ‘too bland’ with his hands. Too bland?! Usually things were way too much for Keith, but this was perfect! Why didn't Lance agree?

Realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. It was Galra food. His taste problem was from having enhanced senses, which came from his mom. Of course Galra food was tailored to stronger taste buds, making it too little for someone with weaker ones who grew up in a home full of spices. Of course Keith would love it and Lance wouldn't. He only hoped that humans weren't allergic to anything in the food the Galra ate, so that the thing that killed Lance in captivity wasn't the Galra themselves, but their diet. Keith was immune to most of that, but Lance didn't have any Galra blood to protect him. He seemed fine right now though, and at least Keith got to enjoy this amazing meal in quiet.

After he'd finished, he sat the tray by the door and thought quietly about what to do next. The slit opened and the tray was pulled out. Interesting. Maybe if he stabbed the person's hand when they were taking the tray back, he could convince them to open the door? Keith would have to see it at least one more time before taking action. Shiro would approve of that caution.

“Try to get some sleep, okay? We might not get a chance again. They may pull something overnight, but they'll probably go easy on us, at least until tomorrow,” he ordered, again, trying to mimic Shiro. If he wanted to be a good leader one day, surely this was the first step.

Lance nodded and curled up in the corner away from their shared wall and the door. When he appeared to relax a bit like he was dozing off, Keith did the same thing in his corner. He wasn't expecting to get much sleep but he knew he needed to try if he wanted to be alert for whatever tomorrow held. Eventually he fell into a dreamless uneasy sleep, worried about what the morning held.


	3. Morning Moaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance isn't necessarily enjoying himself and can't stand silence so he fills the space with rambling and internal struggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a class trip today so that's why it's getting out so late, but ta-da! More notes at the bottom because it'll make more sense after the chapter. Idk I'm super tired.

When you wake up in the morning, you don’t think to yourself, gee whiz, maybe I’m going to get kidnapped by evil doers and forced to eat disgustingly bland food for an indistinguishable amount of time. You don’t think, man, maybe I should wear a helmet on a uninhabited planet while looking for MAGICAL ROCKS. For goodness sakes, if you'd told him a few months ago that he'd be a prisoner on a spaceship full of FREAKING CAT PEOPLE because he hadn't been paying attention while searching for ‘healing crystals’ in a purple field, he would have laughed in your face, honestly, because that sounds ridiculous.

And yet, here he was, Lance McClain, pilot of the blue lion, looking at another pile of gunk. Lance really didn't understand what Keith liked about the stuff, but he was over there scarfing it down like it was the best thing ever. At some point in the night, the glass and sound had switched, so now Lance could see Keith and Keith could hear him. That wasn't necessarily an improvement, considering the fact that Keith wasn't as awesome with hand motions as he was. It was better than before though, since he could fill the silence without talking to himself, and Keith couldn't hit him or tell him to shut up.

“When we get out of here, I'm going to have Hunk make us a great meal, much better than this stuff. Did I ever tell you about my mom’s cooking? She inherited her grandmother’s cookbook, and made us old family recipes every night… I miss the smell of the spices in the air and the sound of her singing to the radio every night, and how we'd all help…”

Silence was suffocating, especially in a situation like this. Lance liked to joke around and talk to people to get the edge off, but conversation was nearly impossible given the set up. Plus, it was Keith. Why did it have to be Keith! Anyone but Keith. He knew the animosity between them was his own fault, because he started it, but still! Deep down, it was really Keith's fault. If it weren't for that naturally silky hair, or that little smile he did when he was happy, or that look in his eyes when he was piloting, Or how it had felt to be in his arms…

“I'm right in the middle of the family four siblings before me and three after. My brother, Hugo, is right before me is about Shiro’s age. They would get along I think. He's going to school to be an artist or an engineer. Never really got my love of flying. None of them really did, except maybe Essie and Margot. Essie works as administration at the Garrison now. She does paperwork for fun. Margot is a year younger than me, so we were pretty close…”

That stupid mullet, stupid smile, stupid sparkle, stupid stupid stupid! Lance scratched his head and tried to eat the breakfast they'd pushed through the hole. To him, it was like mashed potatoes with practically tasteless stringy meat bits with a bland, colorless sauce. He looked over at Keith, who was happily licking the plate. Stupid Keith. Stupid glow he gets when he's happy. God, this was the worst.

The only thing worse than not having a preference between hot people's junk is the fact that at least a third of those people like girls, not guys, and like sixty percent of people will get upset if they find out you like guys. Hunk and Pidge knew and didn't care, but he had heard back at the Garrison that Keith didn't swing his way, and he didn't want to risk it. On top of that, what the quiznak did aliens think about sexuality?! It surprisingly didn't come up that often. He didn't want to risk the majority of the people in the Castle of Lions turning against him, so he'd been trying to act extra straight. Great plan, Lance, it's going so well.

“I was born in America, but Antonio, my oldest brother, wasn't. My parents brought him and my mom’s parents over from Cuba while my mom was pregnant with Essie. Then came Angelina, then Hugo, then me, then Margot, then Carlo, then Gwen. Carlo and Gwen are like, ten years younger than Margot and I. We're like ten years younger than our older siblings too, I mean, but Carlo and Gwen were surprises. I've been Cuba, it was beautiful. It felt like home, because of my family's stories. Florida was home too. I miss the rain, and the beach…”

He rubbed the bump on his head and sighed. Despite what he’d said, it really did still hurt. After all the trouble he’d gotten himself into over the years, he could tell it wasn’t too bad, but it was enough to have a bump. First they hit him hard on the head, then they fed him bad food that made him want to barf, what next? They’d make him wear super uncomfortable clothes?! He would rather die… Okay that was a little dramatic, but he had sensitive skin! Rough fabric was horrible!

“When I was a kid, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be a space explorer or an ocean explorer. I knew I wanted to be a pilot, but both space and the oceans seemed amazing to me. My grandma, the one I’ve told you about, she was a pilot on an exploratory mission out to Jupiter. She’s always been a huge inspiration for me. She got me my first telescope, and told me everything she could about the stars…”

Keith looked over every once in awhile, and didn’t seem to care that he was rambling. Lance didn’t want to irritate him, but he couldn’t stand silence. If only they gave water that didn’t taste like dishwater. Dishwater was not a very good taste. Neither was seawater, but it was better than dishwater. He missed swimming in the ocean with his family, enjoying the sun and the warmth and the Earth. How did he get on the topic? Oh right! Dishwater. Gross.

“There was a night when I was nine, and there was this meteor shower, and we all sat on blankets on the beach and watched, and she said to me, ‘Lance, you have the moxie that I had at your age. You’re the only one who got it. You can go out there one day yourself, all the way to the edge of the galaxy’… Wonder what she’d think of me now…”

The food had come about an hour ago now and it was getting tiring to ramble, even for him. He was used to people stopping him. No one would stop him now. A moment of silence passed before the door to Keith's cell opened up and three Galra soldiers entered the room. They grabbed Keith and overpowered him, beginning to drag him out of the cell.

“HEY! WHAT THE QUIZNAK ARE YOU DOING TO HIM! LET HIM GO!” Lance shouted, running to the glass and hitting it with his fist. They didn't listen to him though, and they dragged Keith out. “NO! KEITH! KEITH!... mierda…”

He laid his back against the wall of glass and slid down to sit against it. Great. There was nothing he could do for Keith locked in this room. What if they killed Keith? What if he never came back? No no no, they wouldn't, not with all the effort they'd put into this special connected cell thing. Plus, Keith was partially Galra like them. That had to count for something.

It was so silent. Lance didn't even have Keith to look at for some kind of human connection. The loneliness and worry for his friend was overwhelming. Despite the logic he could come up with, he was still afraid. What if they did kill him? What would Lance do then? Lance was certainly less important than Keith, especially to the Galra, so he knew he was more likely to be the target of their hatred and violence. But, what if Keith did die? What if no one ever came for him? What if he was all alone, forever?

He was being silly, he was sure, but that didn't change the fact that he was clutching his head and struggling to breath normally. “Que venga enseguida y le daré yo un collar de plata y un limón de olor,” he sang softly to himself, trying to calm down and fill the silence that threatened to drown him. A lullaby, like he'd sing to little Gwen and Carlo when they were infants, a song that could calm them even on their fussiest nights 

“La luna, la luna se quiere casar con un pajarito de plata y coral,” Lance hummed. He loved that verse, the mention of the moon and coral both. The best of his favorite things. He calmed down and occasionally sang, losing track of time. There was no way to do so in the cell. It seemed like hours had past, and he felt hungry again, which generally indicated that it was around noon, though he hadn't eaten much for the last two meals so how accurate his internal clock was was debatable. 

The Galra dragged Keith back inside his cell and dropped him unceremoniously onto the ground before leaving. Keith pushed himself up and scratched his head, looking displeased, but not dead, which was good. Bonus. He had the marks to show that he had been roughed up a bit, and appeared deep in thought. At least he was alive.

Lance swiveled around so he was on his knees and he could see the red paladin better. “Keith! Thank God you're okay! You are okay right? I was worried they would do something really bad to you. I'm glad they didn't. Don't let that get to your he-”

The room switched as he spoke, so that Keith was the one that could see and speak to Lance. They were both startled by the change, jumping back away from the wall a bit with surprise. Keith recovered first and sighed.

“Don't worry. They aren't going to do anything that would physically hurt me. They want my loyalty too much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger simply because this is literally that Keith did. He said that, and then told Lance NOTHING about what happened and didn't speak to him at all. He's being salty and dramatic and angsty.
> 
> Also, the song Lance is singing is Duermete Mi Niño, as far as my research has shown. Of the three languages I've studied, Spanish was the longest ago, and only a basic level, so if I screw up, let me know!


	4. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team deals with the loss of their teammates. Allura tries to be a strong leader while the paladins find it hard to stay awake after a very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a break from all the stress with a different kind of stress ^-^. The next chapter will be the first big angst, so this is a nice little reprieve before that!

It had been seventeen hours since Lance and Keith were captured in the surprise ambush. Seventeen Vargas. That was plenty of time for them to do heaven knows what to them. They could be dead or tortured. It was tearing them up, that they hadn't been able to protect them. If only they had been a little faster, if only they had noticed a little sooner. If only they had prepared for something like this. 

They had spent every hour trying to find information. All ‘night’ they had searched, and they were wearing thin. Hunk had fallen asleep a few Vargas ago, and was snoring quietly in his seat. Pidge had taken to rubbing her eyes every few minutes, and trying to cover up her yawns as sighs. Shiro, who had spent most of the time either doing what he could or standing stock straight with his arms crossed, watching the screen, was now sitting at his station and scratching his head. Coran was even showing signs of being worn out, as he was leaning over the board far more than usual. 

“Chin up, paladins. Zarkon mostly likely planned this for a reason. They could have learned of Keith's heritage and they likely want him on their side. And as we all know though, Keith and Lance are two of the most stubborn people on the team. We will rescue them soon, I know it,” Allura said in a calm, authoritative voice, to give them confidence and strength, though she herself feared the worst. 

The Galra were bad, though they hadn't always been. She remembered the times before it all started, when things were peaceful and happy. They were bad now though, most of them anyway, and they'd killed her people, destroyed the culture and the world the Alteans had adored. It seemed that there had been Galra trying to stop them, but they hadn't succeeded. Maybe they were too weak, maybe they weren't trying hard enough. Either way, they were bad in Allura's eyes.

The only information they'd managed to find so far was an untrustworthy source saying they were being taken to Zarkon. It made sense, but at the same time, the Blade had said that given how it had ended last time they'd gone there. They also said that given how things have developed, it was unlikely they would do that again, and that their inside source was trying to get information. Allura knew it was too risky to take action until they had more trustworthy sources, but it was difficult to just stand there.

Waiting was excruciating. Allura was a person of action. She had always hated waiting any longer than she had to. A majority of her mind that was telling her to head to Zarkon and attack right now without much of a plan or anything that could be helpful. The rest, the part she was listening to, was saying that was not a good idea. Because it wasn't. She wished she could be more like her father, patient, brave, calculating. Unfortunately she only got the brave and part of the calculating.

“Uh, Allura, question,” Pidge said, raising her hand like she was in class, “I don't know this word, I haven't seen it in my studies, can you help?”

Glad to have something to do, she rushed over and read the screen. “Olterblest. That's not a word word, it's the name of a place. You can tell by the, how did you describe it? Context clues,” Allura explained. “This is saying that a mission recently was based out of Olterblest.”

She was quite proud of the youngest paladin for taking up the language like she had. It made her feel a little better, like not everything was truly gone. Anyone could learn the language, anyone could study the culture. Altea may be gone, but the memories didn't have to be.

“Could that be our guys?” Shiro asked as he walked over, arms crossed.

“It could be, but I'm not sure. I don't think I have enough info here to say for certain, and we can't risk being wrong,” Pidge said. She adjusted her glasses and started typing again. “The majority of this is about ship parts, though it could be in code. I need more time, and probably Hunk to help me decode it.”

Shiro took a subtle deep breath and nodded. “You haven't slept since yesterday, so that can't be helping. I think we all need to rest for a few hours before coming back to this.”

Despite how he was trying to hide it, his worry was clear. Keith was practically his brother. The thought of him in the hands of the enemy, and the memories of his own imprisonment, seemed to be haunting him. They all knew how much Keith meant to him, so the fact that he was the one suggesting the break meant a lot.

Allura gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “You deserve to rest too, as much as you can anyway. Help me get Hunk back to his room and then I'm putting you in bed too. It's understandable if you can't sleep, but you won't be much use to anyone if you're dead on your feet.”

Shiro took another deep breath and nodded, dropping his arms from their crossed position. “Yeah, I could use a bit of rest too. Pidge, you can get yourself to bed, right?”

Pidge yawned as she shut down her station and stretched. “Yeah, I think I'm gonna take a shower first though,” she said.

“Don't worry about me!” Coran called from the other side of the deck. “I'll go to bed in a lickity jiff! I just need to check the nylon fractionators first.”

“Well be in bed within the vargas, that goes for everyone, understand?” Allura ordered.

There was the general sound of agreement, so Allura accepted that and took one of Hunk’s arms. Shiro took the other and they started trying to take the big lug to bed. Hunk assisted in this, but for the most part, he was too out of it, mumbling about mechanical things she didn't entirely understand. 

They were good kids, all of them, Allura felt. She looked over at Shiro as she thought this, thinking about everything they've gone through, both as a team and singularly. Despite the hardships and the pain, they were still good kids. They still wanted to do the right thing, and pick mercy when they could. It was honestly admirable. She wished she could say for certain that she would do the same, but her anger and impulsive nature made that impossible. Allura knew she was more likely to show mercy to sea sludge that had no emotion or sense of pain than she would a Galra that fought for Zarkon. 

As they put Hunk in bed, and pulled the blankets up, Allura sighed and hugged Shiro. He didn't speak, Shiro simply hugged back, knowing that she needed that physical comfort as much as he did. they stood like that for a few moments before letting go and heading to their bedrooms to rest and mentally prepare for the day. 

Allura laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Seventeen Vargas. Zarkon could have done just about anything to them in that time. It was going to at least three more, if not longer, until they were possibly going to find them again. She felt sure that Zarkon had discovered Keith's Galra blood and that it had to do with his capture. The likelihood that they would try to extort that, and use his hunger for information about his mother against them. Allura could only hope that it wasn't enough to turn him against them, and that his stubborn nature would keep him strong. In all probability, Lance was only taken because he was the closest, and that they could use him as leverage over Keith to sway him more.

Plus, there was a major problem they had: they couldn't form Voltron without the two paladins, which would make their rescue even harder. Even if they found them, the possibility of getting them out safely was extremely low. The best chance they had was if they found them sooner than later, before Zarkon did too much damage to them. They would be able to, possibly, fly their lions out and form Voltron with the others to assist in getting them out. Worst case scenario was that she was wrong about Zarkon’s plans with Keith and that they would be tortured for information the entire time. If that was true, then they would be in no shape to fly, and would be much harder to get out.

The princess sighed and rolled onto her side. She would never get to sleep if she kept this up. Allura had to have hope. Realistically, they were more useful alive and conscious than dead or brain-dead. That thought should comfort her more than it did, but it was enough for her to close her eyes and try to sleep.


	5. Pain and Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has his first torture session and it goes about as well as one could expect. Keith gets really mad about untimely food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay angst ^-^. This is what most of you came for, right? Probably wondering, what took so long? Tbh it's probably got to do with the unnecessary amount of description I put in the freaking food chapter. I'm tired Idk what I'm writing have fun folks.

Lunch came and went without Keith giving any more information about what had transpired while he was out of the cell. Lance was more than annoyed at the lack of communication, but what could he do to protest? To show his dissatisfaction, he pouted in the corner and glared pointedly at where Keith had been before the switch. He didn’t know that Keith had moved so the glare did not actually get him.

The door to Lance’s cell opened and he jumped up defensively. Two Galra entered and went to grab him, but he tried to fight them off. Lance was yelling something, shouting, but Keith couldn't hear any of it. They got a hold of him quickly though and he continued fighting them, but they were much stronger than him and his fighting didn't do much. 

“LANCE! Damn it, let him go!” Keith shouted, hitting the wall between them angrily. 

The soldiers didn't listen and took him out of the room without a word, the door closing behind him. Keith swore again and sat back down against the far wall, expecting that Lance would go through something similar to what he'd gone through. It hadn't been so bad, honestly. Just hours of annoying propaganda and figuring out that all this was in an attempt to turn him to their side. What worried him about their motivations was that Lance meant nothing to them and had only been taken because of Keith.

While it was true that he didn't really recognize Lance much from his time in the Garrison, and that the moment they really first met, Lance was trying to start a rivalry, Keith didn't really hate the guy. He was dramatic and had a thing for looking pretty and flirting with girls, but he as reliable in a fight and did the best he could.

Keith remembered seeing him one day at the Garrison, shortly before Keith got himself kicked out. Lance was talking to the guy he only knew as ‘big man’ because he didn't actually know his name and he was a pretty large person. They were joking around and laughing in the mess hall, despite the sombre feeling that everyone had gotten after the failed mission. It has been so nice, and a little frustrating, to see happiness in the face of loss. Lance’s smile seemed to light up the dark atmosphere, make it seem like it wouldn't be bad forever.

And then the next time they met Lance was calling him his rival and trying to make that so. What the quiznak. Who does that? What was his problem?! So yeah, Keith went with it, because the guy was challenging him so of course he'd fight back. It didn't mean much to him. He honestly didn't care. But if Lance wanted a fight, he'd get one. Keith wouldn't take that sitting down. It wasn't his fault Lance randomly picked him, but he was going to give him a fight if that was what he wanted.

That didn't mean the Blue Paladin deserved to be used as a pawn to get to Keith though. It meant Lance had issues, but he shouldn't have to have whatever was going to happen… happen to him. Keith had never been very good at the empathy thing. He'd always felt like an outsider. Now that he knew why, he wished he could go back and tell his younger self. Empathy and that emotional junk was much easier now that he knew why he was an outsider. He was worried and empathetic towards Lance, despite how they argued, because no one deserved this.

His train of thought was halted when the wall of glass became a screen, with a very close image of Haggar filling up most of it. If the wall was about ten feet or three meters tall, and width wise it was slightly longer, than her face was ten feet tall and like three wide. Keith did NOT need to see her that close, holy hell. He instinctively jumped back and made a ‘ewhh’ sound.

She seemed annoyed by that reaction but continued on as planned. “If you join us now, child, your friend will come to no harm and you will both be treated well while in our care. If not, he is about to be subjected to the worst torture imaginable. I will use a spell that will cause every nerve in his body to feel the most pain they possibly can, and I won't stop for many Vargas, no matter what you say or do. What is your choice?”

Keith frowned and considered what she said. How could he say that he wouldn't side with them, and put Lance through that torment? On the other hand, how could he join the enemy, the people that destroyed Altea and probably many planets like it for thousands of years? No, he couldn't join them. He was a paladin of voltron, a knight of light. He couldn't submit to the darkness. Lance would surely be strong enough, would understand. “I won't join you. Not now, not ever,” he growled, standing up.

“Very well, boy, watch your friend suffer from your decision,” Haggar said, sounding a bit disappointed. She backed walked away from the camera, revealing Lance, who they'd muzzled and restrained to a table.

They took off the muzzle and Lance took the opportunity to give one last comment before it started, “Hey, do I get a say in this, or am I not fury enough?” He gave a smirking smile at the camera with satisfaction, even as Haggar got prepared. A moment later purple lightning sprung from the fingers she had positioned above Lance and shot into him. Lance screamed from the shock of it and started trying to break free from his restraints, escape the pain.

“HEY, STOP! OKAY I'M SORRY, STOP!” Keith shouted, running to the wall and banging on it. 

Nothing he said changed what was happening, just as she'd said it wouldn't, and the torture continued. Keith had never been so angry in his entire life. He felt useless, completely and utterly helpless. There was nothing, nothing he could do to stop this, to save Lance from this. Lance didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this!

Lance’s struggles turned to convulsions and his screamed to groans and choking sounds of pain as time went on. His eyes had rolled back in his head a while ago, and he didn't seem entirely conscious anymore. Still she continued relentlessly. Still Lance took the entirety of her attack. His convulsions turned into twitches and his sounds went silent and she still continued for awhile more before finally stopping the spell and dropping her arms. Lance twitched but otherwise remained still and unconscious as the soldiers released him and the camera shut off. 

Keith had spent a good vargas or two shouted at and banging and scratching on the wall, desperate to help his friend. Within the third, he grew tired of the useless actions and tried to hide in the corner to block out the sounds. Eventually he gave that up too, and spent the rest of the time watching or staring at the ceiling, hoping every moment would be the last, so that Lance could be spared. Now that it was finally over, he stood up and waited for them to bring Lance back in.

The door slid open and they threw the blue paladin in the cell without a trace of mercy or gentleness. Lance didn’t react much, simply laying on the floor unmoving. Keith was worried and approached the wall. “Lance! Lance, can you hear me?” he asked, worried.

Lance didn’t react for another moment, but slowly he began to move. First his fingers twitched, then curled into a fist, followed by the rest of his arms curling in around himself. He mumbled something, probably an attempt to deny his current state, but it was hard to deny that he was curled in the fetal position…

And the food slid under the door.

The audacity. Didn't they know there were more important things right now than food?! Lance, who should always be okay, was not okay! And they felt it was the perfect time to send in dinner?! No! Screw the Galra! Screw them all! No matter how good the food was, Lance was more important. His friend and rival was suffering and no amount of sweetness could change that. 

Keith ignored the food in favor of talking softly to Lance, trying to get him up and okay again. It wasn't working very well, but at least Lance was reacting a bit more than he had been before. He was more relaxed in his position, and his tired eyes were slowly making their way to the wall. After some time, Lance dragged himself across the floor so that he could touch the wall that connected with Keith's, placing a hand on the glass and falling asleep.

Knowing he would probably sleep for a while, Keith brought the food over to where Lance was. When he woke up, he would see that Keith hadn't left him, and hopefully not be angry at him for what happened. He placed his hand against Lance’s and ate quietly, trying to decide what to do when the morning came. He had no way of knowing what the next day held, but had every reason to suspect he would be given the choice again, and knew he would have to decide whether to protect Lance and surrender, or to let him go through this again.


End file.
